Crowds gathered to watch this week as demolition crews took down a Civil War-era building in downtown Lynchburg.
The building, once the Miller Tobacco Warehouse but known locally as the Miller Building, was a former tobacco warehouse owned by the Gibson family of Seneca, South Carolina.
During the Civil War, the Miller Tobacco Warehouse was one of many tobacco warehouses that were pressed into service as Confederate hospitals, including 19 in Lynchburg.
Lynchburg was second only to Richmond in the state for the number of sites used as Confederate hospitals during the Civil War.
The Miller Tobacco Warehouse was also used as a make shift morgue during the war, according to the website of a Lynchburg-based preservation consulting firm, History Tech, www.historytech.com.
The demolition came after the back wall of the building, located at 612 Dunbar Drive, partially collapsed on January 30.
Structural engineers hired by the Gibson family found that the damage was too significant to repair. Demolition was slated to last about a week, according to the News Advance, www.newsadvance.com.
Demolition began on Wednesday and was completed on Thursday. The Miller Building was one of only two remaining buildings used as Civil War hospitals remaining in Lynchburg.
According to the News Advance, the Knight Building, located across the street from the Miller Building and owned by Morris Construction, is now the only remaining Civil War hospital in Lynchburg.
The Morris family has restored the Knight Building and is using the building as an office. However, the top floors used as a hospital have welcomed visitors and Civil War reenactors alike.
The Gibson family hopes to salvage as much of the material as possible from the Miller Building for resale.
Both the Knight Building and the Miller Building were listed with the Civil War Trails program, according to www.civilwartraveler.com.
Lynchburg has many other properties listed on the Civil War Trail including Sandusky House at 757 Sandusky Drive, Fort Early Building at 3511 Memorial Avenue, Quaker Meeting House at 5810 Fort Avenue, and Old City Cemetery at 401 Taylor Street.
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